Verizon Support Recommends Turning Off 5G to Conserve Battery Life (theverge.com) 94
"Are you noticing your battery life is draining faster than normal?" tweeted Verizon Wireless customer support on Sunday, the Verge reports:
Despite its relentless promotion of 5G phones and the fact that it spent more than $45 billion bidding on a new faster spectrum, Verizon support now is advising people on Twitter to turn off their phones' 5G access to preserve battery life.
In a Sunday morning tweet, Verizon support helpfully suggested that "one way to help conserve battery life is to turn on LTE" if users found their batteries were "draining faster than normal." That step would, of course, turn off 5G in a phone that has it available. It's also worth pointing out that you don't actually "turn on LTE" when doing this step — LTE is always enabled as a fallback for the 5G network. But Verizon is obviously being cautious so as not to actually tell its customers to "turn off 5G".
Verizon's tweet is now "unavailable," having apparently been since deleted.
The Verge also points out that Verizon's nationwide 5G network "uses a technology called DSS, which in many instances is actually slower than the LTE network it's trying to replace."
In a Sunday morning tweet, Verizon support helpfully suggested that "one way to help conserve battery life is to turn on LTE" if users found their batteries were "draining faster than normal." That step would, of course, turn off 5G in a phone that has it available. It's also worth pointing out that you don't actually "turn on LTE" when doing this step — LTE is always enabled as a fallback for the 5G network. But Verizon is obviously being cautious so as not to actually tell its customers to "turn off 5G".
Verizon's tweet is now "unavailable," having apparently been since deleted.
The Verge also points out that Verizon's nationwide 5G network "uses a technology called DSS, which in many instances is actually slower than the LTE network it's trying to replace."
not that bad (Score:2)
several working battery tech with twice or more times storage capacity ... though if they catch on fire it'll be twice as spectacular for sure
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yes but that's happening, there are new *working* batteries that have 2x or more the energy density of what we're using now, such as with carbon nanotubes. Can't speak to safety though, might explode in your lap and take your junk off, lolz.
anecdotal but.... (Score:2)
Since I upgraded to my 12 max I've had crappy battery life and much worse service with Verizon. Have been very unhappy with the QOS.
Re:anecdotal but.... (Score:5, Funny)
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Why 5G? (Score:4, Insightful)
With all the limitations of 5G, and the list of negatives being longer than the list of positives, why did we created 5G at all?
"Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should."
Re:Why 5G? (Score:4, Informative)
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And why did we upgrade to 4G? Serious question - I used to have the ability to toggle my phone from 4G back to 3G mode, and I have no clue which it was on if I didn't look in the corner. What is the benefit of 4G?
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4G is way faster than 3G, in ways that I actually notice. My phone lets me know when I'm roaming on an older tower and the difference is definitely perceptible.
Depends on what you define as 4G (Score:2)
I think it depends on what you define as 3G vs 4G. I usually get over 10Mbps with HSPA+, which is 3G, and I really can't tell it apart from 4G LTE on my phone. The heaviest I can do is watch HD video. However, I remember there were networks calling "Edge" as 3G and then, for example in the US, there were networks touting "4G" but using technologies like HSPA (so "mature" 3G). So a phone in one of those carriers might show you 3G for Edge level or pre HSPA+ level service, which is indeed much slower than 4G
Re:Why 5G? (Score:4, Informative)
4G uses less battery than 3G if you're actually using data. 4G LTE, like GSM, is designed so the handset doesn't need a linear power amplifier in the transmitter. It can use a more efficient amplifier than behaves more like a switch (hard on or hard off). This means less power being turned into heat in the amplifier for the same transmit power. It also simplifies the radio layer a lot, running everything in packet switched mode, and allocating bandwidth to handsets optimally is a lot simpler with OFDMA than with CDMA. Combined, this means the base stations don't require anywhere near as much computing power, making them cheaper and more efficient.
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That's pretty cool. So does 5G also have a "when properly implemented, the power consumption (in handset) is less" Because improving radio efficiency is a real benefit.
But, I'm a little confused by your post, because GSM predates 3G (Even the original iPhone used GSM) and CDMA was a Verizon only "feature" for as long as I remember. I literally don't remember having a non-GSM smartphone.
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GSM uses GMSK modulation for the air interface, which is very efficient to transmit. When EDGE data is used, the packet timeslots use quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) which can pack more data into the same bandwidth, but is less efficient to transmit than GMSK.
There were two main competing 3G standards: wideband CDMA (WCDMA) and CDMA Evolution (CDMA-EV). WCDMA used 5MHz channels, with features for circuit switched voice and video as well as packet switched data. CDMA-EV was an update of US IS-95 (cd
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Why are desktop computers being sold with more cores?
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4G LTE always used less battery than 3G WCDMA, particularly with HSPA. 4G LTE uses SC-FDMA on the uplink, so the handset doesnâ(TM)t need a linear RF power amplifier. 3G WCDMA requires a lot more power due to the modulation it uses.
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4G LTE always used less battery than 3G WCDMA, particularly with HSPA. 4G LTE uses SC-FDMA on the uplink, so the handset doesnâ(TM)t need a linear RF power amplifier. 3G WCDMA requires a lot more power due to the modulation it uses.
Tell that to my HTC Thunderbolt from back in the day. :). That thing ran warm and was lucky to ever get more than 6 hours of battery life in 4G mode. Usually had to go back to 3G to get any sort of usage out of it
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What I seem to remember is that early 4G phones had a separate chipset while the 3G was integrated with the SOC. That 4G chip was likely less efficient design to start, and was almost certainly made on an older process node.
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Call me a Luddite, but at some point the question must be asked: Do we need it?
Sure faster speed is nice, but how fast? And what do you even need it for? Are you running a server on your phone? The argument I saw thrown around often was "It must get much faster to handle the future IoT datastreams... At which point the question becomes "Is this a good or a bad thing, even?
Sure, am all for science and research and the general progress of mankind's knowledge. But not everything must get crammed into consumer
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As with LTE, 5G is not about whether you need it. It's about what is more efficient/cheaper for the carrier to provide you the same (or nominally "better") service.
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Hey creimer! You are awfully quiet tonight. Just fricking join The Alliance and be over over with it. The Alliance won interfere with anything you do on other sites. On the contrary, we will support you if anything!
Very insightful! +5 In the end, everybody here kind of love Chris like he was fart of us.
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Re:Why 5G? (Score:4, Funny)
Should be fairly obvious why it was created. They needed a new "G" to sell you.
The amusing part here is that Verizon support actually tried to give support - "You know that 5G thing? It's better that you just turn it off." - and it deeply, deeply disturbed some executive who decided that post had to go, because suddenly their whole plan for the future of the business started to look as useless as it actually is.
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Should be fairly obvious why it was created. They needed a new "G" to sell you.
5G ... 6G ... 9G (AT&T) ... Kenny G ...
Re: Why 5G? (Score:2)
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you may have reached the apogee . . .
groan away, but don't expect an apology!
hawk
Re:Why 5G? (Score:5, Interesting)
So there is a really important feature of 5G, that became much less relevant this past pandemic: Being able to handle a much higher density of devices.
5g gives much better phone usage during sporting events, big celebrations like NYE, etc.
Not the most relevant use case right now, but my understanding was that was one of the big drivers.
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If that's accurate, it's a case of poor optimization for real life usages. If you count attending events like football games once a month, attending conventions a few times per year, and major holidays, the total life of your phone usage under those high network load conditions is likely in the range of 1% to 2% for typical individuals with a maximum somewhere near 5% for major socialites.
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If that's accurate, it's a case of poor optimization for real life usages.
You're judging an entire technology based on its first generation of radio and software. If you want to be consistent I highly recommend you also disable 4G and 3G. God knows the rest of us did to preserve battery life when they first came out. Your UID is low enough that you should remember those days.
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Bring back AMPS. . . . :P
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You nailed it.
Re: Why 5G? (Score:2)
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Too bad they can't actually manage to cover a sports arena with 5G without a ton of no phone zones.
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Except every place I know of with a high density of devices expected (stadiums, convention halls, hotels) put in tons of (3G? 4G?) microcells already to handle dense collections of devices.
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5g gives much better phone usage during sporting events...
Yes, because after selling a kidney to get tickets, parking a 20-minute walk away, and spending $37 on two beers to come watch a live sporting event, the most important thing, is phone usage.
Yup. I get why it's a "relevant usage case". Narcissism is a helluva drug.
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I think you can look at it a lot less cynical than that.
* Ability to text your friend who's gone to the food stand.
* In case of general admission, texting your friend so you can actually meet up.
* It's NYE and I'm lost and I need to call somebody.
This isn't just a "I need HD tic-toc video while ignoring a game that's going on", it's a case of having the phone's basic functions working vs "message failed to send".
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With all the limitations of 5G, and the list of negatives being longer than the list of positives, why did we created 5G at all?
"Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should."
5G has multiple advantages over 5G: Lower latency [forbes.com], higher bandwidth [wikipedia.org], and higher density of connected devices.
When using a phone, unless you are at a big event you probably won't notice much (other than the battery going down faster...). However, this is preparing for a new wave of IoT devices, wireless broadband competing with cable etc.
Battery life was bad with the first iterations of 4G chipsets/phones too, I assume this will get better as well. It's not as if 5G helps with most use cases today, so you
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Wait, with 5G I get faster battery drain, IoT devices that bypass my network controls to call home directly and the fiber connection getting replaced by something slower and less reliable. Holy shit, and I thought that the crazies destroying 5G towers because they somehow thought it interacted with COVID were bad for society!
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> 5G broadband access points
You mean... wifi?
Because with the wrong frequencies, and somw windows or god forbid brick walls in-between, 5G will probably have a smaller range.
"Normal" 5G has the same range as 4G [wikipedia.org]. There is, however, a special mode using much higher frequencies which will cause such problems - mmWave. I think this is only available at a few locations in the US, e.g. iPhones sold outside the US don't support mmWave at all [iphoneincanada.ca].
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Higher bandwidth? It is literally slower!
Because higher bandwidth is only the case at those frequencies that don't pass through anything and might aswell be infrared.
For anything with a reasonable range, even indoors, there is a hard physical limit on the bandwidth. Unless you put a base station in every square foot of your ceiling, and create the higher frequencies via interference from many lower ones, that won't ever change.
5G has "normal" frequencies too, not just mmWave. Outside US I don't think we even have mmWave.
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With all the limitations of 5G, and the list of negatives being longer than the list of positives, why did we created 5G at all?
One word: China
China’s Dominance of 5G Networks Puts U.S. Economic Future at Stake, Barr Warns [nytimes.com]
The U.S. and China’s Next Battle Won’t Be Won With Tariffs [barrons.com]
China's growing 5G dominance is a disaster for US security [thehill.com]
America does not want China to dominate 5G mobile networks [economist.com]
Re: Why 5G? (Score:1)
In other words: Nooo! Their hollow dick is growing bigger tan our hollow dick! We must not allow a holow dick gap!
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With all the limitations of 5G, and the list of negatives being longer than the list of positives, why did we created 5G at all?
Firstly, this was literally the case with *EVERY* new mobile technology we developed. You may have been living under a rock, but the rest of us turned off 3G to preserve battery life. We turned off 4G to preserve battery life. We turned off LTE-A to preserve battery life. That's the way all mobile technology development has happened. Hell we also turned off bluetooth and GPS before the OS got smarter about how background apps used these functions.
Secondly maybe you want to actually list all the negatives? H
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Because the bandwidth is amazing.
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> With all the limitations of 5G, and the list of negatives being longer than the list of positives, why did we created 5G at all?
5G works great in areas with very dense population and fully populated 5G cellular networks.
Typical tech support answer (Score:5, Funny)
In other news putting your device in airplane mode *really* saves power.
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I thought typical tech support answer was to power off and unplug device, wait 1 minute, and then plug back in and power on device.
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To truly save power you should skip the last step.
They did that with LTE as well. (Score:2)
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I remember back 8-10 years ago you could switch off 4G LTE to save battery life also. Some companies said it was best to leave it off unless you needed higher bandwidth like viewing videos, then go back to 3 or 4G for normal use. Devices improved and the option was no longer needed. However I think phones could easily switch from LTE to 5G as needed, 60-150+Mbps is more than enough for most needs, should you need GB speeds it can switch networks.
IPhones can automatically switch from 5G to 4G [apple.com] if there is no benefit, and this setting is the default. Other manufacturers might do the same thing.
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I remember back 8-10 years ago you could switch off 4G LTE to save battery life also. Some companies said it was best to leave it off unless you needed higher bandwidth like viewing videos, then go back to 3 or 4G for normal use. Devices improved and the option was no longer needed. However I think phones could easily switch from LTE to 5G as needed, 60-150+Mbps is more than enough for most needs, should you need GB speeds it can switch networks.
I keep location, Siri, and 4g turned off unless I need it. If I'm not on Wifi then the phone generally doesn't have internet. I use the bluetooth calling and VOIP app for business calls. 3 - 4 days or more on a charge is typical.
My nieces and nephews laugh hysterically at my attempts to conserve battery. They simply don't see the point. To them charging one a day (if not more) is just what phones do.
Do they recommend turning it off (Score:4, Funny)
and back on again?
Slashdot has a short memory (Score:4, Informative)
We have literally done this with *every* iteration of a new radio technology. And somewhere in the back was a late adopter (Apple) saying I told you so and using the opportunity to shit on the battery life of competitors while touting EDGE as being better than 3G.
We also turned off Bluetooth and GPS due to the way software sucked at managing it.
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They're not just 2mm thinner. They're 2.1mm thinner!
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I have heard a few iPhone users say they won't use GPS because it sucks too much battery. Sad that they limit the usability of phones in the name of making them 2mm thinner.
Well they are people who held the original iPhone in their hand and haven't exercised a braincell since. Sure if you drive interstate with navigation on and no charging cable expect your shiny new toy to not last. In the real world the 2mm thinner device has no problem exceeding the battery life of the first iPhones on the market. *more* usable, and lighter to hold to boot.
Verizon Support Recommends Turning Off 5G (Score:2)
I wonder if the bill goes down if you don't use what your buying?
Social Media is a waste land. Improve your quality of life by only being there when you must.
Doc, it hurts when I do this... (Score:2)
Re: Doc, it hurts when I do this... (Score:1)
Patient: (stops breathing)
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https://www.vgcats.com/comics/... [vgcats.com] (SFW)
5G still in early adopter phase (Score:2)
This is unsurprising, 5G is still in the early adopter phase. The advantages won't manifest until the devices get refined and deployment of the network is more prevalent.
Re: 5G still in early adopter phase (Score:2)
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Higher frequencies are less efficient ... or so I' (Score:1)
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Yep, and VZW is pretty FUBAR right now as they don't have much low (sub-2GHz) or mid (2-4GHz) band spectrum to work with. mmWave might be good in stadiums and indoor venues but just sucks for range outdoors. Thus the battery drain as your phone strains to push max power back to a VZW cell site.
We'll see how much spectrum VZW picked up at the last mid-band auction here in the US. We should see the "winners" list pretty soon.
No need (Score:2)
After 5 minutes the 'unlimited downloads' limits are reached and it will revert to 4g anyway.
Uhm ... D'uh! (Score:2)
The same (correct) recommendation was common knowledge when UMTS/LTE was introduced ... 3G is more energy efficient than 4G, 4G to 5G is again a similar comparison ... of course a technical setup with higher throughput, more complex encoding will always use more power than a simpler one ... that's why phones also still include the option to disable higher standards ... ... 2G is still covered as a fallback feature, but most carriers seem to be in the proc
At least in Germany, though, 3G is more or less dying
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